A very elegant tote bag from Japan – by hoop Hiroshima

Written by Keiko, February 2021

You’ve probably heard of Hiroshima, which suffered huge damage in the Second World War. There are still some survivors alive, and there is the Atomic Bomb Dome in the Peace Memorial Park, to remind us we must never make the same mistakes again. It is now a city of great understanding, beauty and ideas.

One of the beautiful things coming out of Hiroshima is the hoop brand, started by the designer / maker Yoko Iwamoto who lives there and has produced a wonderful collection of bags. Hoop’s collection is all hand-made, and it is delightful to see such first-class materials and sewing quality.

We are so happy to be launching the hoop collection on our site, and in fact it is the first time that they are going to be shown outside of Japan.

My favourite has to be the Katate bag, as it is casual and but also very elegant. Just right, I think, for the times we live in, as we go through and come out of the lockdown. Katate means ‘one hand’ in Japanese, and it is a bag that is so easy to carry with one hand, with its sophisticated little handle with bright colours!

I instantly thought that Audrey Hepburn would have loved this bag, and it would have looked just right with her in films such as ‘Roman Holiday’ and ‘Charade’! The Katate bag is big enough to keep my essentials in – like mobile phone, lip balm, keys and wallet – as well as notepad & a pen, and more!

The canvas fabric is a lot thicker than normal tote bags, so it will keep its great shape. The designer Yoko is utterly committed to using the very top quality fabrics, so she’s found the best yarn and has managed to source a great fabric maker for her collection. The colours are outstanding as well, with four really strong stand-out choices – red, blue, yellow and beige.

I simply can’t decide which one I should have! What is your favourite?